Meet Jason

A local lawmaker is proposing new legislation in Harrisburg to improve school safety. State Rep. Jason Ortitay’s legislation calls for the creation of special threat-assessment teams at every school district. Pa. budget plan includes more for schools, safety “I had someone tell me this is nothing more than a witch hunt piece of legislation,” Rep. Ortitay told us. “That’s not …

Pennsylvania’s Keystone Contractors Association is launching its first event drawing awareness to opioid issues. The event comes as the issue becomes acute both nationally and within the state—with construction more closely affected than other industries. Pennsylvania’s construction industry is facing an opioid crisis of its own—and one of the state’s leading trade groups is speaking up about it in a …

State Reps. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), Seth Grove (R-York), and Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) are urging the advancement of House Bill 1704, a cybersecurity bill. The bill has been in the House State Government Committee since its introduction in July 2017 and empowers the Office of Information Technology (OIT), which was created in 2016 by an executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf. …

With the opioid crisis hitting the construction industry hard, one state has begun to strike back. The week of July 22 has been designated as “Construction Opioid Awareness Week” in Pennsylvania via House Resolution 981. During this time, contractors and trade companies have been encouraged to start the conversation with their workers about opioids, as well as partner with local …

Construction workers employed by Joseph Miorelli and Co. will find a little something extra in their paychecks next week: A sticker with the message “Opioids: Warn me.” Designed to prompt a conversation between construction workers and their doctors about addictive medication, the stickers are part of a statewide blitz aimed at an industry that’s losing an increasing number of members …

State Turnpike officials said they’ve installed additional controls near a construction site just outside McDonald as they prepare a plan for “permanent controls” to address flooding that’s harried locals since last year. Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colborn said “the new plans will involve attempting to purchase affected properties and obtaining permits to do the additional work, which will take several …

A state lawmaker introduced legislation in July that would allow volunteer fire departments to build living quarters at their stations by allocating $10 million into a new fund. State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Bridgeville, said he was inspired by a conversation he had a few years ago with Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Chief Dave Brown. “These volunteer fire departments are struggling, they …

State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, recently introduced legislation to centralize the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors. “A recent report by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee showed change is needed for the long-term sustainability of the PASSHE,” Ortitay said. Additionally, the study found internal factors reduce the state system’s ability to respond to challenges. Governance …

State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette, introduced legislation to assist volunteer fire companies in constructing living quarters at their stations. As the number of volunteer firefighters declines, the goal of the legislation is to encourage younger volunteers, who can live at the fire department in exchange for providing 24/7 fire coverage. House Bill 2550 would redirect 0.1 percent of the …